MADISON, Wis. — Gophers defensive end D.L. Wilhite was so upset walking off the field in the third quarter Saturday that he bumped teammate Ryan Collado, who was just trying to talk to him.

Wilhite’s frustration boiled after his back-to-back penalties followed a questionable no-fumble call that resulted in a meltdown from the University of Minnesota defense to start the second half of a 41-23 loss to No. 20-ranked Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium.

The Gophers, who gave up 27 points and 317 of the Badgers’ 473 total yards in the second half, seemed on the verge of a big stand when defensive end Anthony Jacobs stuffed Wisconsin’s 260-pound tailback John Clay for no gain on second and 7 at the beginning of the third quarter.

The Badgers’ first drive was extended, though, when quarterback Scott Tolzien connected with Lance Kendricks on a 10-yard third-down pass. Kendricks appeared to lose the ball on a fumble. Minnesota’s players thought they forced a turnover, but the officials called Kendricks down with forward progress.

“The whistle wasn’t blown until we had the ball,” said safety Kyle Theret, who had 10 tackles. “That’s tough when get a turnover and you think you’ve got it, and they get a score on that drive.”

The defense had another chance to hold on third and 7, but linebacker Keanon Cooper was called for holding to give Wisconsin a first down. Later in the drive, Wilhite was called for a personal foul that offset Wisconsin’s holding penalty with the ball on Minnesota’s 17-yard line. Wilhite followed that with a facemask penalty while bringing down Tolzien for a sack.

“I think today we shot ourselves in the foot too much,” Theret said of Minnesota’s seven penalties for 54 yards. “Playing against a good team like this, you can’t afford to have penalties like that.”

Lair big: After winning a national tight end of the week award after the Northwestern game, junior Eric Lair continued his standout play with four catches for a team-leading 78 yards. The Gophers opened up their offense with a few screen passes to Lair, who made a 33-yard reception to begin the game.

Gray day: Quarterback-turned-receiver MarQueis Gray caught a leaping 9-yard touchdown pass from Adam Weber to make it 14-9 at halftime. But in the fourth quarter, Gray, who was limited the past week with plantar fasciitis, had a potential 44-yard touchdown pass from Weber fall through his hands on the right sideline in the fourth quarter. Gray was held to just two catches for 13 yards and was shut out in the second half.

Not so golden: It was coach Tim Brewster’s idea for the Gophers to go with a retro look with white jerseys and white helmets Saturday. The last time Minnesota wore white helmets was in a 10-9 victory over North Dakota State under coach Glen Mason in 2006.

Weber threw two of his three touchdown passes to Da’Jon McKnight late in the fourth quarter, but he was only 11 for 25 for 249 yards in the game. The Gophers were 3 for 13 on third-down plays.

Kicker David Schwerman replaced starter Eric Ellestad on Minnesota’s final two kickoffs in the second half.

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